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The 2024 Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce Governmental Service Award Presented To Karen DeMarco Karen DeMarco serves as the Director and Health Officer of the Hunterdon County Health Department, serving all 26 municipalities in the County. Ms. DeMarco has over 20 years of experience in Public Health, and as Department Director and Health Officer, Karen manages the Divisions of Public Health Nursing, Environmental Health, Public Health Preparedness, Recycling, Mosquito and Vector Control, and Weights and Measures. Her professional interests include communicable disease epidemiology, emergency preparedness, maternal and child health, and public information and media relations. Karen currently serves as the chair of the Hunterdon County Partnership for Health and serves as a Board member for the Bucks and Hunterdon YMCA. The Chamber and the Business Community is gratefu,l as Karen played a tremendous role in her leadership during the Pandemic and the subsequent years helping navigate these uncharted waters for our Communities here in Hunterdon County. Ms. DeMarco describes the 45-person staff of the Hunterdon County Health Department as “Small but mighty.” Staff from each Division bring together their knowledge and expertise, complementing one another to make the team stronger, for the protection of health throughout the county. Professionally, Karen is proud of the public health response during the COVID pandemic in Hunterdon County and works alongside staff striving to improve the public health infrastructure and expanding programs to serve the daily needs of residents, while also preparing for the next emergency. In addition to her role in governmental Public Health, Karen has served as an instructor for the National Center for Biomedical Research and Training, a Department of Homeland Security-funded program based at Louisiana State University. As an instructor, Karen traveled frequently throughout the country and taught first responders the course “Emergency Response to Domestic Biological Incidents.” Prior to serving Hunterdon County, Karen worked for Monmouth County Health Department as Assistant Public Health Coordinator and Public Health Epidemiologist. An undergraduate from The University of Scranton, Karen attained a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Administration with minors in Business, Philosophy and Women’s Studies. Karen earned her Master’s Degree in Public Health from Rutgers University School of Public Health. She is a licensed Health Officer and a Certified Public Manager. Personally, Karen is most proud in her role as mom to her 3 children, who keep her busy on the sidelines of baseball fields, football fields, rugby fields, and basketball courts.